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Boris Johnson in hospital: A Chinese gaze at Western democracies in the COVID-19 pandemic

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Altman PengORCiD, Dr James Cummings

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Abstract

In this article, we examine Chinese assessments of Western democratic systems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is based on an up-to-date case study of how Chinese Internet users discussed the UK Prime Minister – Boris Johnson’s infection with COVID-19 in late March and early April 2020. The research collected original data from the Chinese community question-answering (CQA) site – Zhihu. Using a mixed-method approach, consisting of content analysis (CA) and thematic analysis (TA), we show how Zhihu users evaluate the incident 1) as a way to express their sentiments towards Boris Johnson, 2) as a case to assess British politics, and 3) as a vehicle for rationalizing their views on Western democratic systems in relation to China’s domestic politics. The research findings shed new light on a Chinese gaze at Western democratic systems in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Peng AY, Zhang IS, Cummings J, Zhang X

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Media International Australia

Year: 2020

Volume: 177

Issue: 1

Pages: 76-91

Print publication date: 01/11/2020

Online publication date: 09/09/2020

Acceptance date: 02/04/2020

Date deposited: 14/08/2020

ISSN (print): 1329-878X

ISSN (electronic): 2200-467X

Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X20954452

DOI: 10.1177/1329878X20954452

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